On the Road With ‘Shark Tank’ 2017: Meet the Co-Founder of Hashtag Props

This producer of custom signs recently pitched his small business during the ‘Shark Tank’ Diversity Tour

Shark Tank Cast (Photo: ABC Television Group)For the sixth stop of the nationwide Shark Tank Diversity Tour, the casting team for ABC’s Shark Tank visited Detroit, where entrepreneurs pitched their business concepts at Detroit Center for Design + Technology. Here, Brandon Andrews engaged in a Q&A session with entrepreneurs at the casting call, and the organizations that support them, including Christopher Ray, co-founder of Hashtag Props.

Below, Andrews’ discusses the evolution of Ray and his wife’s business, Hashtag Props:

Hashtag Props at Detroit Derby Brunch (Photo: Hashtag Props)

Brandon Andrews: What’s the Hashtag Props story?

Christopher Ray: Hashtag Props was developed almost on accident! I own a photo booth company, and I wanted a handheld sign that read “#PHOTOBOOTH313.” I searched the internet for weeks and called several companies. It quickly dawned on me that there were no companies that specialized in creating custom, hashtag props, per request.

Through trial and error, I was able to develop my first sign, and I received such positive feedback. I began to market our signs on social media, and the company immediately took off. We have shipped more than 2,000 signs in only five months.